Make Money From Social Marketing

Social Media and The Revolution in Marketing by John Mauldin

 
I know you have probably heard the term Web 2.0 by now. It’s all over the internet and it is even being referred to in commercials. But do you know what it is all about?

Web 2.0 is a term first coined by Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media.

Web 2.0 refers to a trend in the use of the internet to facilitate creativity, information sharing and, most notably, collaboration among users of the internet.

Because of the diversity of the users and the variety of information being shared, a wide range of communication systems have evolved. These systems are commonly classified under the umbrella term "Social Media".

Social Media takes many forms including Social Bookmarking; Social Networking; Social Media; Social Advertising; Social Shopping; Online Gaming; Virtual Worlds; News Aggregation; Content Sharing; Video, Music and Photo Sharing; and Blogging. Currently, there are over 2000 sites involved in one or more forms of Social Media. If you read the statistics on the front page of our site, you will see that the sheer number of participants in Social Media is staggering!

The universal exchange of ideas and information from Social Media is transforming the very “fabric” of our society. It is creating revolutionary changes in the way we live and do business. And its impact is being seen in industry after industry, revolutionizing some and replacing others.

For example, Blogging is replacing newspapers as the New Generation of Journalism; Podcasting is replacing radio as the New Generation of Radio; and VideoCasting is replacing Television as the New Generation of Television.

Social Media is also forcing a change in the way we market our products and services.

For ages, we marketed products and services by preparing a sales message and then broadcasted it to the world through various media such as radio, TV and print. Traditional marketing strategists tell us that if we broadcast our message often enough and loud enough, a certain number of people will listen and subsequently buy. In the media industry, this is commonly referred to the method of “impact” and “repetition” and is the cornerstone of most mass advertising strategies. The problem is that in order for this to work, you need the listener’s attention. If you cannot get the listener's attention, you cannot sell anything. And getting attention is becoming increasing difficult.  

Studies show the majority of people would give up a part of their income in order to have more free time. With too little time and a constant barrage of information from every direction, people are choosing who or what they want to listen to and what they want to “tune out”. As evidence, consider TIVO: Research indicates that 90% of the households with TIVO skip commercials altogether!

More and more, people are deciding who and what they are going to listen to. And who do you think gets “tuned out” first? You guessed it! Advertising messages!   

Researchers tell us TV ad budgets are shrinking by record amounts. Eighty-percent of adults 35 and under don’t read the daily paper. The direct mail and printing industry is in a recession. And radio advertising is in the toilet. Every segment of traditional media is declining in revenue and popularity.

Today's buyer is empowered with a enormous number of choices. And because of internet and the emergence of Social Media, they are becoming better educated and more informed. Now, instead of reacting to outside advertisements, they are taking control. Social Media enables potential buyers to ask questions, compare, evaluate, listen and get input from other prospective buyers AND owners of the product or service being considered.

Surveys tell us that by the time a buyer shows up to buy a product or service, 70% have already done some form of prior research.

Sadly, the majority of businesses are not waking up to the opportunities the Social Media Revolution presents! Instead, they are “stuck” in their old ways, churning out an endless procession of advertisements while hoping they can capture enough people that are "tuned in".

Let’s take it a step further. Let’s assume a buyer has decided to make a purchase. Who is it they are likely to turn to for advice or input before making their final decision? Will they go to the stores that offer those products or services? It’s not likely! Why? Because the motive of the seller is to sell something and everyone knows that. 

So how do consumers go about buying a product or service? In a study conducted in early 2007, A.C. Neilsen, a leading information source, found that 78% of the time, people trusted “Recommendations from Consumers” first before making a buying decision. In fact, those recommendations ranked 25% higher in value than the next source of information. BIG Research conducted a poll among 15,000 people who were asked what most influenced their decision-making before a purchase and Word-of-Mouth came in Number One!

This concept shouldn't be hard to understand. When is the last time you decided to go to a new restaurant or see a movie? Did you ask one of your peers first before you went! And what would you do if you got a poor recommendation? Would you go there anyway? It’s not likely!Certainly it would color your decision.

Suppose you were considering the purchase of a new car and had seen some pretty compelling ads for Gizmos. Would you take the ads at face-value and hot-foot it down to the Gizmo dealership to buy one? Not likely! Instead, you would probably ask your peers..... your spouse, people you work with, friends and associates before even considering a trip to the Gizmo dealership. And how would you feel if a fellow employee told you about all the problems they were experiencing with their Gizmo? Would you feel pumped up about buying a Gizmo now? Or would you decide to talk to others first or simply shelve the idea.  Now what if you could get on the internet and read the reactions from Gizmo  owners from all over the world and everyone said, "Don't  buy it!".  You would be convinced it was a bad idea and go on, wouldn't you?

On the other hand, say you asked around the office and you got a dozen praises from Gizmo owners, how would you feel about the possibility of purchasing a Gizmo then? Pretty good, I have to assume.

The beauty of Social Media is that you aren't limited to your circle of friends or associates. You can “cast a net around the world" and get information from everywhere! You don’t have to settle for a few responses or no responses, you now have the world to talk to! And how much more confidence would you have in your decision if you could read forums and blogs and talk to people from around the world on the internet who praised or condemned Gizmos? The answer is obvious! And this is the power of Social Media.

Can you begin to see how Social Media will transform our lives?

As a business owner, what are you doing to interact with this new phenomenon?

I know a lot of you will respond by saying,” I already have a website”.

If you have a website, you should be commended! You have taken a step into the online world and at least fifteen minutes ahead of your competitors. Don't get me wrong, websites are valuable because they provide information about you, your products and services, your days of operation, location, etc. But the majority of websites are one-dimensional. They are traditionally "static" and do not take into account the need for interaction possible through Social Media. Sadly, only a handful of websites truly work in building a sense of “community”. Instead, they focus on Flash Animation, SEO, Google Search, PPC, etc. and following the herd rather than putting themselves on the other side of the desk (another story).  

An equally important point to consider about websites is the actual number of them out there:  Currently, there are over 450 MILLION websites displaying Fifteen BILLION web pages.

So How Do You Establish a Presence in the Social Media arena?

As daunting a task as this must appear to any business owner or professional, I assure you the solutions are not difficult to master and once implemented, achieve fast results. Don't forget, we have done the homework for you! And we are ready to let you know how!

There is one thing you MUST keep in mind. You have a limited "window of opportunity" to implement our strategies before the competition figures out what you are doing. It could be 12 to 18 months, or perhaps a little longer and possibly even less time. I can't say when with any degree of accuracy, but there is no doubt, the Social Media Tidal Wave will hit. And when it does, everyone will be jumping on the band wagon.

to put our Social Strategies to work in your business or profession. By then, the media will be going crazy over the Social Media Revolution. The "cat will be out of the bag" and for those who passed up this opportunity, the may become a casualty instead of tremendous success.

 Not everyone is going to agree with me and I am actually glad of this because it leaves more opportunity on the table for those that jump in NOW. Already, I can take you to scores of people who have discovered ways to tap into the huge income potential Social Media Marketing presents and made millions.

One final note: If you are a Doctor, Dentist, Lawyer, CPA, Business Broker, Financial Analyst, Architect or other professional, you simply cannot afford to dismiss our solution.

In fact, no business can avoid this solution entirely! Interested in knowing what it is? Sure you are! If you want to be on the “inside” and distance yourself from your competition, you will want to attend our FAST-START Social Marketing 2.0 Seminar and learn, first-hand what it is and how you can start implementing this strategy in your business or practice immediately. Go ahead, put yourself years ahead of your competition! Enroll NOW!